Health News For London and Middlesex

Funded by the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) has announced a Personal Support Worker (PSW) Training Fund to support the delivery of care to residents in Long-Term Care (LTC).

For the fiscal year 2017/18, MOHLTC is working with the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in LTC to coordinate PSW continuing education and training through the delivery of the “Excellence in Resident-Centred Care” (ERCC) program in partnership with Conestoga College. ERCC has been developed to help long-term care teams achieve Better Care and Better Outcomes using a person-centred, train-the-trainer approach that emphasizes ministry standards and the latest evidence to support care through the following 12 training modules:

The objective of the PSW Training Fund is to help develop and enhance the PSW workforce in LTC to deliver high-quality and safe care that meets resident needs through continuing education and professional development. The fund aims to help LTC homes train a critical mass of PSWs and sustain ongoing learning that will continue to benefit LTC residents.

The PSW Training Fund will cover tuition and backfill for PSWs from Ontario LTC homes participating in ERCC Trainer Recertification, ERCC Trainer Certification, and ERCC Team Member Training from October 2, 2017 to March 30, 2018.

Each PSW who successfully completes the ERCC Trainer or ERCC Team Member course will receive a certificate issued by Conestoga College and the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging. Organizations with at least 70% of PSWs trained will receive an organization certificate jointly issued by Conestoga College and the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging.